From the legendary Lau Kar-leung (The Spiritual Boxer; Eight Diagram Pole Fighter) comes one of his finest – and wildest – rides, following a pair of very special undertakers who transport dead bodies by magical means. But their latest trip is proving tricky; it’s bad enough that a strong-willed young woman has invited herself along for the ride but, even more awkwardly, one of the corpses might not actually be dead… Pretty much inventing the kung fu horror-comedy, and a huge influence on later films like Encounter of the Spooky Kind and Mr. Vampire, The Shadow Boxing stars Gordon ‘Kill Bill’ Liu and features the sort of action only the great Lau could serve up. 88 Films are delighted to unleash this Hong Kong classic on blu-ray.

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Video Quality

The Shadow Boxing receives its debut domestic release on Blu-Ray via 88 Films with a new 1080p master in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio derived from an HD transfer of the Original Camera Negative. The transfer does not exhibit any significant signs of filtering or DNR which allows it to retain its organic appearance. This aids in extracting fine detail from the image with nuanced facets of the costumes and production design coming through more clearly than ever.

This transfer has eradicated virtually all of the dirt and debris, and the film does not stumble with any digital nuisances such as compression artifacts. There is the occasional softer shot that more than likely dates back to how the film was captured. The grain field is steady without much fluctuation besides a fleeting clumpy spot. The transfer provides respectable color saturation with vibrant hues in the craft elements. This release ranks highly from the Shaw Brothers output in clarity and consistency. 88 Films continues to do good work for fans.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray presents the film with an LPCM 2.0 Master Audio mono track in the original Mandarin with optional English subtitles. Compared to other Shaw Brothers films from this era, the overall quality is a bit higher than normal. The overall soundscape has a more robust quality to it that allows it to feel formidable. Dialogue comes through clearly throughout the duration with no distortion or sibilance. The fights are given the appropriate weight in the mix. The score maintains a fine fidelity with no egregious instances of age-related wear and tear. 88 Films has done a lovely job of presenting this film in the best quality possible.

Special Features

Trailer: The minute-long trailer is provided.

Stills Gallery: A nearly two-minute collection of stills from the film.

Four Postcards

Final Thoughts

The Shadow Boxing is a rather wacky outing that takes an absurd supernatural premise and executes it with maximum commitment. Watching these dead bodies hop around is hilarious as you come to recognize the logic of this world and what they are accomplishing. When you are not delighting in the kooky vibes, there are some really fun action set pieces spearheaded by the great Gordon Liu. With a studio that put out so many similar features, it is a blast to find something that stands apart a bit more. 88 Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a fantastic A/V presentation but not much in the way of special features. Recommended

The Shadow Boxing is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: 88 Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.